Rubem Braga (12 January 1913 – 19 December 1990) was a Brazilian writer of '' crônicas''. He was born in

Cachoeiro de Itapemirim Cachoeiro de Itapemirim (local ) is a municipality and a major town, located in the south of Espírito Santo, Brazil, on the banks of the Itapemirim River. It is the economic hub of southern Espírito Santo, being the most important producer of m ...

city, state of

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

. Braga was raised in his hometown, but at an early age was sent to the city of Niterói by his parents, to live with relatives. He attended law school in Rio de Janeiro, but graduated in

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

, in the year of 1932, after having acted as a

field reporter In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

for the ''

Diários Associados The Diários Associados, or Associated Dailies, are a union of Brazilian communication media created by Assis Chateaubriand. Diários Associados owned Rede Tupi, the first Brazilian television network, through its affiliate, the Rede de Emissor ...

'' during the Revolução Constitucionalista. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he was a war correspondent along Brazilian forces for the Brazilian newspaper '' Diário Carioca'' in Italy. He subsequently returned to Brazil, taking definitive residence in Rio de Janeiro. Braga was arrested several times by the Nationalist military government of the time. His first book ''O Conde e o Passarinho'' was published in 1936, when he was 22. He is one of few Brazilian writers to get recognition by writing short stories. Braga founded, together with

Fernando Sabino Fernando Tavares Sabino (October 12, 1923 – October 11, 2004) was a Brazilian writer and journalist. Life Sabino was born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, the son of Dominic Sabino and D. Odette Tavares Sabino. He lived there until he was twe ...

and Otto Lara Resende, the book publisher Editora Sabiá. As a journalist, Braga was a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers and magazines from Rio de Janeiro,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Minas Gerais and

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

. In 1953 he was nominated the Brazilian "Chefe do Escritório Comercial" in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, due to his friendship with president

Café Filho João Fernandes Campos Café Filho (; 3 February 1899 – 20 February 1970) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 18th president of Brazil, taking office upon the suicide of president Getúlio Vargas. He was the first Protestant to occu ...

. In 1961 he was appointed as Brazilian ambassador to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

by president

Jânio Quadros Jânio da Silva Quadros (; January 25, 1917 – February 16, 1992) was a Brazilian lawyer and Politics of Brazil, politician who served as the 22nd president of Brazil from January 31 to August 25, 1961, when he resigned from office. He als ...

. During his last years of life he worked for

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...

. Braga died in Rio de Janeiro on December 19, 1990.

Bibliography

Chronicles

* ''O Conde e o Passarinho'' (''The Count and the Bird'', 1936) * ''O Morro do Isolamento'' (''The Mount of Isolation'', 1944) * ''Com a FEB na Itália'' (''With FEB in Italy'', 1945) * ''Um Pé de Milho'' (''A Corn Stalk'', 1948) * ''O Homem Rouco'' (''The Grumbling Man'', 1949) * ''500 millionônicas Escolhidas'' (''50 Selected Stories'', 1951) * ''Três Primitivos'' (''Three Primitives'', 1954) * ''A Borboleta Amarela'' (''The Yellow Butterfly'', 1955) * ''A Cidade e a Roça'' (''The City and the Countryside'', 1957) * ''1 billionônicas Escolhidas'' (''100 Selected Stories'', 1958) * ''Ai de ti, Copacabana'' (1960) * ''O Conde e o Passarinho e O Morro do Isolamento'' (1961) * ''Crônicas de Guerra – Com a FEB na Itália'' (''War Chronicles – With FEB in Italy'', 1964) * ''A Cidade e a Roça e Três Primitivos (1964) * ''A Traição das Elegantes'' (''The Betrayal of the Elegants'', 1967) * ''As Boas Coisas da Vida'' (''The Good Things in Life'', 1988) * ''O Verão e as Mulheres'' (''The Summer and Women'', 1990) * ''200 Crônicas Escolhidas'' (''200 Selected Stories'') * ''Casa dos Braga: Memória de Infância'' (''House of the Braga: Childhood Memories'') * ''Uma Fada no Front'' (''A Fairy at the Front'') * ''Histórias do Homem Rouco'' (''Tales of the Grumbling Man'') * ''Os Melhores Contos de Rubem Braga'' (''The Best Tales of Rubem Braga'') * ''O Menino e o Tuim'' (''The Boy and the Tuim'') * ''Recado de Primavera'' (''Spring Note'') * ''Um Cartão de Paris'' (''A Postcard From Paris'') * ''Pequena Antologia do Braga'' (''Small Anthology of the Braga'') * ''Casa dos Braga'' (''House of the Braga'')

References

* ''Na Cobertura de Rubem Braga'', from João Castello * ''Rubem Braga'', from Jorge de Sá * ''O Globo'' newspaper, articles by Luciano Trigo e João Máximo 1913 births 1990 deaths Brazilian journalists Brazilian male short story writers Male journalists 20th-century Brazilian male writers 20th-century journalists 20th-century Brazilian short story writers {{Brazil-writer-stub